Chronicels Of Time: Skyrim I: Deadly After Dusk
by KaydeeAre96
Summary: When her family is torn from her, Summer finds herself spiraling down a dark path. With the haunted memories of her past casting ugly shadows in her life, What will happen when she finds someone who can help mend the shattered pieces of her heart; Will she find the sanctuary she's been searching for? Can she lay the past to rest, Or will her thirst for vengeance finally be bleed?


Chronicles Of Time

Skyrim I: Deadly After Dusk

Book One: Shadows Of The Heart

A Work Of Fanfiction by_ Kaydee Are._

* * *

Childhood is not from birth to a certain age,

And at a certain age,

In which time the child is grown,

And puts away childish things,

Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.

\- Edna St. Vincent Millay

* * *

Prolog: Crimson Snow

She was only fourteen when she became an orphan. A tragic accident, or so they said. If you were to ask anyone who knew about the Lone Pines massacre, the would tell you the sad story of how an honest farmer and his family were ravaged in the night; Leaving only one serviver.

Summer Rose knew better. She was there after all, had seen it happen. Bandits had invaided their home in the dead of night. Searching for anything of value. Gold, jewels, trinkets of any size. Summer Rose had been sound asleep lying next to her sister when the front door was kicked in.

A flood of five grimy nords, that reeked of wet dog filed into the living area of the small farm house. The noise of the crash had woken Summer's father Redmond and his wife.

"Well ain't this a surprise?" Said an older man with a scruffy grey streaked beard, as the middle age couple came rushing out of their room.

"You're not suppose to be here! Leave now!" Redmond roared, stepping to shield his wife, hand gripping the family great sword in his hands.

The bandits all exchanged a look and smiled at Redmond. They had no intentions of leaving. When the he realized this, rage filled Redmond. With the impulse to protect his family, Redmond foolishly charged towards the intruders. An impulse which cost Redmond his life.

Horror struck, Ella watched as a stranger pulled his sword from her husband's gullet and screamed.

Upstairs, Ava jolted up from her bed.

"What was that?"

No answer came. Looking over, she realized why, Summer Rose was still sleeping soundly, tucked safely under her patchwork cover.

"Rosie." Ava whispered, tiptoeing over to her older sister's bed.

Summer groaned as her sister shook her into consciousness. "What is it Ava?" she asked not bothering to open her eyes.

"Somethings happening. I heard momma scream." The little girl explained.

"Ugh, It was just a dream, Ava. Go back to sleep!" Summer growled.

"No Rosie. I'm telling you, I heard momma scream!"

Summer moaned mournfully into her pillow before looking to her sister. Ava stood there next to the bed in her nightgown staring at the bedroom door, her red hair tangled and wild.

"Just so you understand, If I get out of my nice warm bed, just to find that it's your over active mind that has come up with this, I'm gonna come back up her and tan your hide."

"I didn't imagined it Rosie!" She whispered exasperated.

Summer cringed slightly at her sisters nickname as she got up.

"Wait! Your just going to leave me here?!"

Summer paused mid-step at the door. "I'm not leaving you, you idiot, your waiting here while I go see what's going on." She smiled, looking back at her sister as she added, "That is unless you want to come face the boogie man with me?"

Ava cringed, and climbed back into her bed making a sour face at her sister.

"Yeah, didn't think so."

Slowly Summer made her way down the stairs. Careful to miss the loose steps that she new creaked. Just in case. She was almost to the living room when she heard the muffled cries. Hesitantly she padded forward, peeking around the corner. Summer's eyes widened in horror.

On the floor lay her father, dead in a puddle of dark blood. But that wasn't the worst of it. Just beyond her fathers body was her step mother, pinned over the table by two large ugly brutes, as another pounded himself within her.

Summer couldn't speak, She didn't know what to do. Her heart quickened and swelled with fear as her mind raced. Part of her wanted to scream. Wanted to run and beat the men off the woman she'd come to think of as a mother. Wanted to rage about her father and kill the one responsible. But then she thought of Ava. And her rage cleared.

Ava had to come first. She could come back for Ella when her sister was safe. Quietly as possible, Summer tip toed her way back upstairs and to the bed room she shared with her sister.

Ava was just where Summer had left her, Setting in the middle of her bed surrounded by wrinkled sheet, clutching her pillow, eyes wide.

"Rosie what's wro-"

"Shh!" Summer hushed her as she searched the room quickly for her sisters coat and shoes.

"Listen to me Ava. I need you to do something." Summer bent and shoved her little sisters small feet into her boots. "I need you to run. Get to town and tell the guards we need help." slipping the coat on and buttoning it together, Summer looked up into her sister's silver eyes. "I need you to promise me, that you'll run as fast as you can, and that you wont look back."

Ava's lip trembled as she nodded. She didn't understand. Why did she need to run? What had happen to momma? Why did she scream? Rosie seemed scared. That scared Ava even more. Her sister was never scared.

Summer shook her sister firmly by the shoulders. "Promise me Ava, Promise me!"

The tears spelt over. "I promise Rosie." the little girl cried. "I promise."

Summer nodded once before sweeping Ava into her arms. "We need to be very quiet, silent as the shadows." She whispered into Ava's ear as the young girl buried her face withing the crook of her neck.

Summer made her way down the steps again, with even more hesitance then before. Once they reached the bottom step, Summer shifted her hips to shield her younger sister from the view of their parents.

The door was only ten feet away. If they could just make it that far, perhaps they'd be okay. Ava could run for the guard in Winterhold and she could figure out how to- Creak!

The floor board beneath her feet groaned under there combined weight.

Summer's eyes widened. Before she even looked, she knew. The bandits knew the were there.

Panic paged in Summer's heart, and without thinking she sprung into action. Practically throwing little Ava out the door and into the cold, she turned and stood between them and the door. Ava was out. Maybe if she gave her enough time she could even make it to the town.

"Well ain't we just too lucky tonight?!" The man with greying hair spoke from between her now unconscious mothers thighs.

Summer took a moment, There were five of them. Three of them stood around the table. Two, A redguard and a nord,at one side of the table Ella was spread upon, the third, between her legs. The fourth was a big burly nord who had came out from her parents bedroom, and was staring at her with a look of panic. The fifth bandit was the closes, the imperial was crouched over her fathers body tiring to loosen the sheath from his shoulders.

"Gunther!" The one nord called, still looking at Summer.

Gunther sighed from his spot between the farmer's wife's legs. "Yes, Yes I seen. Go on. Albinn, Dru-go, this ones all yours." he said before refocusing back on the limp figure before him.

Three men started for her. She had to do something. She'd be damned if she'd go without a fight, and she'd let them get Ava over her dead body.

Her eyes darted around the space, searching for something, anything. Lying next to father was Starshatterer, the family great sword, though Summer doughted she'd be able to lift the hefty steel.

There! On a table, not six feet way from her, was a candle sick, alight with three tinny flickering flames, the rooms only source of light. If she could just get to the dame thing then maybe, just maybe she'd have a advantage. Even if it was a small one.

The window of opportunity was closing fast, The three men were already half way to her. It was now or never, Summer lunged, her fingers curling around the base of the candle stick just as a firm hand clamped down, jerking her back by her shoulders.

Turning fast Summer slammed the base into the temple of the man who grabbed her. He quickly stumbled backwards, grunting as he tried to refocus. Raising her hand, She brought her candle stick back for a second assault. This time she was rewarded with a sickening crunch of Albinn's nose.

She went for another, this time aiming for his jaw, but before she could land her strike the redguard reached out and snatched a fist full of her long golden locks, jerking her back from bludgeoning his friend to death.

Just as Summer began to struggle against Dru-go's hold something caught her eye, the second nord had bypassed them completely and disappeared into the snow beyond the door. Ava. He had gone for Ava.

"Let. Me. Go!"

Summer swung her hand back, smashing her now unlit candles into her attackers face, smearing hot wax across his face.

Dru-go let out a howl, that sounded more animistic then human, clutching his face with his hands. With her two assailants licking their wounds Summer tried to bolt, Shooting for the door.

Only to be stopped when the nameless imperial stepped into her path. She jerked herself to a stop and tumbled backwards. As the imperial stalked toward her, Summer scooted back on her butt. This was not how she was going to die. It couldn't be. She had to get to Ava. There was one of them out there, and he was going to get her if Summer didn't do something.

Just as Summer was about to scream, her hand came into contact with something cold and smooth behind her. Starshatterer, she relied. Gripping the hilt firmly with her left hand, Summer waited. When the imperial was close enough, Summer inhaled deeply, tiring to find her calm. With a strength she didn't know she had, Summer pulled Starshatterer around her in a upward swing. The blade swung high and shoot out of her hand to her right.

Summer let out a cry of rage. She missed! How had she missed? He was right in front of her. The imperial had stopped, startled as he stared at the young blonde. He glanced at Starshatterer, and then back at her, as his hand gripped his bloody stomach.

Oh. Summer's eyes widened. She hadn't missed. A long horizontal line was cut across his chest, where the very tip of the blade had graced. A soundless cry fell from his lips as the man tumbled to the ground.

She'd killed him. Holy shit. She was a murderer. No... Was it considered murder, if it was a bandit? She wasn't sure. But it didn't matter now. They were all stunned and this was her chance.

Pushing to her feet, she was off. Blasting through the doorway and into the wintered land. Summer ran, ducking under low hung branches and trying to avoid tripping on uplifted roots. She ran with all her might into the darkness of the woods, in what she hoped was the direction of the town.

It wasn't long before the roar of footsteps sounded behind her. Snow clung to her lashes, and numbed her feet as she picked up her pace. Pushing herself harder then she ever had before.

Summer made it to a clearing. Just a small oval, vacant of the trees her father had cut last year. There was forty yards of openness before she would be safely concealed by the trees again.

She could make it, she knew she could. If she made it past the field, she could lose the in the thick.

Setting off across the field as if oblivion was at her heels, Summer made it about halfway before something barreled in to her, knocking them both to the ground.

"Way to go Dru-go!" Albinn whooped as he came into view.

Dru-go lifted himself up and brushed the snow from his pants. "We got you now you little bitch!" he spat, shooting daggers her way through his red burnt eyes.

Rolling to her front, Summer tried to crawl away. She didn't have any candles out here, there was nothing for her to use in defince. She needed to run.

"Where do you think you're going?" Albinn's voice rang as he lifted his foot and stomped on the girls back, forcing her face into the snow which stifled her scream of pain.

"Yeah, you think your just gonna get away with what you did back there?" Dru-go raged, kicking Summer in her side so hard, she could hear her ribcage snapping.

Another kick flew, this time to her head. Her scull throbbed as blood spewed freely from her nose and mouth.

"Stupid bitch made us look bad!"

Dru-go leaned down and snatched at her hair, pulling her to her knees.

"Anything you want to say to us, girly?" He angled her head so that she was looking at him. Struggling to take a breath, Summer opened her mouth.

"You didn't need any help with that one."

Her head was slammed into Dru-go's knee before being pulled back at such an angle, that Summer was sure her neck would snap.

"You want to rethink that?" Albinn sneered. A blood curdling scream erupted from Summer as he reached over and twisted her arm, causing her shoulder to dislocate with a loud pop.

"Rot in the fires of oblivion!" She cried in agony, hot tears streaming down her face. Pain, there was so much pain. How could one person hurt this much? Her parents had never raised a hand to either of their children, so the feeling of skin and bone cracking, the sting of someone's slap, it was all a new sensation.

Summer cried until there were no more tears left to shed. Her vision was starting to tunnel and her ears began ringing. Summer could feel her blood staining the snow around her but as her beating continued, the pain became less and less noticeable. Soon, the pain was gone all together, the cold of the snow numbing her now bruised and broken body. For that she was grateful.

"Should we just finish her?" She heard Dru-go ask, his voice echoing through the ringing.

"She wasn't suppose to be touched!" Someone roared.

"We don't answer to you Filnjar." Albinn bit out at the voice.

Summer blinked, tiring to see, to focus on what was happening now. Were they going to kill her? Gods she hoped so. She just wanted to sleep.

"You got what you wanted Filnjar. What's the rest matter now?" Asked someone else.

"We were just suppose to grab her, no one was suppose to die! I didn't want their blood on my hands!" Filnjar sounded torn.

Their voices seemed so far away, yet so close at the same time. How was that possible? Summer blinked again. If she could just see past the blurry spots...

"I told you when you first came to me boy. We'd help you, but not for free! It's done. We all got what we came for. Now we need to leave."

Summer could see four men standing just a few feet from her.

"What about her?" Dru-go asked again.

"Nah, She'll be dead soon enough, let the little bitch suffer some more before the wolves come." Albinn barked with Laughter.

Three of the figures turned, And started to shake. Summer couldn't really see much of what happened next. Her world faded in and out as she watched. But she cold hear them. She could hear the taring of cloths, and the snapping of bones. The snarls that filled the night, and the thunder of paws as they cleared out of the field.

"I am so sorry." The one named Filnjar said before he too, disapered into the woods.

She was so confused, they had came for something? What? Summer remembered the imperial as he worked with earnest to undo the sheath from her father's body. Starshatterer she realized. They had come for her family's sword. But Why? Nothing made since, and she was so tired.

What little bit of strength Summer had been clutching to was fading fast as she let her unseeing eyes fall close. She started to drift, letting go, her body tucked away by a blanket of crimson snow.

A/N

Thank you for reading! I know this is a short prolog but it needed to be posted, I do plan on writing the rest of the story in the first person. I am currently looking for a beta, because as I'm sure you can see from above, I desperately need one. If that's something that might interest you, shoot me a message and I'll try to get back to you! Thanks again for reading!

~K.D.R


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